-VKM-
  • Collection name: All-Russian Collection of Microorganisms
  • Acronym: VKM
  • WDCM number: 342
  • Institution: Research Center Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PSCBR RAS), G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBPM RAS).
  • Address:
    Prospect Nauki, 5
    Pushchino, Moscow Region
    Russia
  • Website: http://www.vkm.ru
    Website of the catalogue or database of the collection: https://www.vkm.ru/Catalogue.htm
  • Correspondence data:
    E-mail: vkm@pbcras.ru
    Tel.: +7 (4967) 73-09-24
    Correspondent: Maxim Kulikovsky, D.Sc.

Member holdings

Group(s) of biological resources stored in the collection: bacteria, archaea, cyanobacteria, yeasts, filamentous fungi, oomycota, eukaryotic algae.

The VKM is the largest public collection in Russia in the field of non-medical microbiology. The collection holds nearly than 25000 strains, of which more than 9300 strains are available in the open collection. The VKM stores microbial strains of various physiological and ecological groups (including anaerobes, extremophiles, plant pathogens) originating from a wide range of environments in Russia and around the world (including the Arctic, Antarctica, Siberian permafrost).

The VKM operates as a Department of the G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBPM RAS) at the Pushchino Biological Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The VKM was organized in 1980 on the basis of the All-Union Collection of Microorganisms, which had been operating since 1958 at the Institute of Microbiology of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now a division of the Federal Research Center "Fundamentals of Biotechnology" of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow).

In 1987 the VKM has been recognized as an International Deposit Authority (IDA) for the deposit of biological material under the Budapest Treaty by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Services offered

Supply of microbial material (freeze-dried or active culture)
  • Microbial strain deposit (public, safe, for patent purposes)
  • Microbial identification via sequencing of essential genes
  • Preparation, assembly and comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of microbial genomes
  • Microbial identification and characterization by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry)
  • Phenotypic characterization of microorganisms (analysis of the composition of fatty acids and polar lipids, composition of the bacterial cell wall, microbial metabolite products, etc.)
  • Long-term preservation of microbial strains (lyophilization, cryopreservation)
  • Free access to information on the VKM cultures, including data on provenance, history, synonyms, old names, DNA sequences, risk groups, etc.
  • Consultancy, training, popularization activity
  • Contract research

    • Research

  • Research at the VKM focuses on exploring microbial diversity and its biotechnological potential. These include isolation and identification of prokaryotes and eukaryotes inhabiting extreme and poorly explored natural environments and associated with plants and animals, as well as identification of strains isolated and placed in the collection in the pre-molecular era. The VKM researchers are also involved in projects related to the study of bacterial cell wall glycopolymers and their possible use in taxonomy; study of anaerobic bacteria and archaea for their capability to produce biohydrogen and biogas, antifreeze proteins and frost-resistant enzymes; investigation of the capacity of microorganisms to synthesize biologically active products, transform organic compounds, destroy newly created polymers and degrade xenobiotics in order to identify biological materials of microbial origin for practical use.